Gai Mingtian mainly performs short fighting martial arts, long-term performances in Shanghai, Hangzhou area, known as "the first Wusheng in Jiangnan", inheriting the performing arts of Li Chunlai, the founder of the Southern School of Wusheng, and extensively absorbing the strengths of other performing arts, and combining personal conditions to develop, forming another important genre of southern short-fighting martial arts, known as the "Gai school". Gai called Tian to learn art in the north, became famous in the south, and most of the southern Martial Arts Drama was patriarchal Gai Sect, which can be described as a well-deserved "Wusheng Taidou".
Today is the 46th anniversary of the death of Mr. Gai Mingtian, let us taste the Baiwei life behind Gai Tian's three broken legs through Mr. Wang Dezhang's article.
Gai was born in 1888 to a sharecropper family in Xiyan Village, Gaoyang County, Hebei Province. Because his family was poor and helpless, he began to learn drama at the age of 8, and took the stage at the age of 10, singing both Lao Dan and wusheng. In 1901, when Zhang Yingjie was 13 years old, because he revered the art of the famous Tan Xinpei, he wanted to take the stage name "Little Called Heaven", but unexpectedly attracted some ridicule. Zhang Yingjie has aspired to be lofty since childhood, and he is not afraid of heaven and earth in order to seek art. In one breath, he simply called it "Gai Call Heaven". Not only to learn from the predecessors, but also to "cover" the predecessors.
It is common for martial arts actors in the opera world to break their arms and legs during performances, but it is rare for a person like Gai Mingtian to have a broken arm and three times in his life.
Yu Zhenting, Gai Mingtian, "Sunny Building"
In fact, as early as 1904, when Gai Mingtian was 16 years old, there were already two changes and tribulations. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, a group of people led by Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Palace loved to watch drama, and the title of "Inner Court Offering" came into being, which was a special honor in the artist's artistic career. Gai Mingtian also had a chance to become an offering in the inner court. The Qing court intended to summon Gai Tian as an "inner court offering", and Gai Call tian, who "did not know how to lift", refused to be called, which showed a kind of character that Gai called Tian' unpopularity.
It was also this year that Gai Called Tian suddenly "reversed the warehouse" (voice change), did not get better, and could no longer play Lao Dan's singing drama. Singing with the voice, "no voice" is a fatal blow to the actor. More unfortunately, this year, when Gai Mingtian starred in "Flower Butterfly" at the Hangzhou Tianxian Theater, he accidentally broke his left arm during the performance. However, the strong gai called the sky, and his left arm did not heal before he went to Wuxi to perform on stage. He has a very good way, he can't play martial arts with a broken arm, so he avoids his short and promotes his strengths, and performs a play such as "Hitting the Stick Out of the Box", which mainly sees kung fu on the legs. Four years later, with his left arm still unharved, he went on a martial arts show and handled the movements skillfully. For example, playing "flying foot" on the stage should be the left hand to shoot the right foot, because his left arm is injured, so he uses the right hand to shoot the right foot. This is not something that is not done in martial arts performances, and many viewers feel new and think that this is an "innovative" move!
In May 1934, at the age of 46, Gai Mingtian signed a contract with the Shanghai Grand Stage for half a year. A week after the performance, one day he co-starred with Chen Hefeng in "Lion Building", gai called Tian to play Wu Song, chen Hefeng as Ximen Qing. When Wu Song pursued and killed Ximen Qing, Gai Mingtian unfortunately broke his right leg. At that time, the leg bone came out of the boot, and the pain was unbearable, but Gai told Tianqiang to endure severe pain, and stood with his left leg in the shape of "Golden Rooster Independence", straight up until the curtain was closed. This anecdote is not only well known in the opera world, but also known to many audiences. Tian Han once had a poem praising Tianyun: "Breaking limbs and breaking arms is a common thing, practicing the Zhang family's one hundred and eight guns." ”
It is said that the traditional drama stage pays attention to "virtuality", and one table and two chairs are enough, but at that time, the owner of the Shanghai Big Stage built a "restaurant" on the stage in order to attract the audience. When Wu Song avenged his brother Wu Dalang and went to the "restaurant" to hunt down and kill Ximen Qing, the "restaurant" began to shake. Ximen Qing saw Wu Song chasing him upstairs, and jumped out of the window of the building in fright, landing on the carpet. Wu Song chased after the window, according to the plot naturally had to jump down, but under his feet was a row of window bars, above which was the eaves, and there was only a window hole a few feet high in the middle, jumping high, head touching the eaves; jumping low, and could not jump over. Even so, it is difficult to defeat the highly skilled Gai Called Heaven. According to the original play path, he jumped down, and a "swallow skimming the water" action jumped out of the "restaurant" that was more than two feet high. But the moment he jumped into the air, he suddenly saw Ximen Qing still lying on the carpet. Gai called Tiantian afraid of jumping down and crushing Chen Hefeng, who played Ximen Qing, according to the original play, so he flashed in the air in an emergency. Because this flash was no longer a drama, and the force was too strong, he suddenly broke his right leg when he landed. Broken legs can be connected, needless to say that today's medical level, that is, the great Shanghai of that year, the fracture is not how difficult it is. However, the mistreatment of the quack doctor brought even greater pain to Gai Mingtian.
During the treatment process, although the fracture was connected, it was misplaced, and after a while the right leg became deformed. In the face of Gai's scolding, the doctor said helplessly: "There is no other way, unless it is to break the leg and reconnect it." "Regard art as the cover of life is called heavenly thought, for art, no matter how much pain you endure, you must also reconnect it!"
Gai called Tiantian to think for a moment, and in front of the doctors, he clenched his teeth, raised his fist, and smashed the deformed right leg in one breath! Breaking his own leg is an ancient story in the history of medicine. Immediately afterward, Gai asked Tian gai to ask other doctors to pick up the bone and heal it. In the midst of poverty and illness, Gai Callian rested for two years, and by 1936 he had recovered from a leg injury.
Gai Call Tian, "Qianyuan Mountain"
It was such a well-known artist with high moral standing, but during the "Cultural Revolution", he experienced many disasters and lived an inhuman life. In the summer of 1966, the 78-year-old Gai Mingtian, in the 38 °C heat of Hangzhou, was put on a top hat by the rebels and put on a garbage truck. Humiliated by this, The indomitable Gai told Tiantian to jump out of the car when the rebels were not prepared, and protested angrily. The rebels ignored the old man's life and death and forcibly threw him into the car. This fierce throw caused the cover to fracture the lumbar vertebrae, and soon suffered a stroke and was half dead.
Cover called the day of old age
Even more tragic was Gai's broken bone-doubled right leg. It was at a 1968 criticism party against him, when the rebels forcibly dragged Gai Mingtian, who was already seriously ill, onto the stage, and the two men stepped on his legs, twisted their hands into a "jet", and inhumanely broke his right leg, which had been picked up and healed 34 years earlier, with his foot, and dislocated his shoulder blades. Then drag him home and throw him on the ground.
Soon, the rebels again called Gai Tian's home, and all cultural relics and belongings were looted. He and his wife were swept out of the house and stuffed into a broken house where there was no sunlight. At this time, Gai called Tian, half of his body was aggravated, he was bedridden for a long time, he could not be cured of his illness, he could not apply for injustice, and he was tortured until January 15, 1971, and died with hatred and hatred, at the age of 83.
Gai Mingtian is a well-known Peking Opera performance artist, but also a tough guy, Tian Han once had an inscription poem, from the representative repertoire of his performances on his style of life: "Fight to see Jiangnan live Martial Pine, eyebrows like snow like a dragon." Mandarin ducks stand on the upper floor, and no big insects are allowed in the world! ”
(The picture and text are from the public account of Li Shaochun, if there is infringement contact to delete)